Beat Up
by CSICSI
Summary: A CSI relives one of the worst experiences of his life. T to be safe. One-Shot.


Hey guys, this is my second story and it's kind of based on the episode Fannysmackin, but it has been changed. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it and check out my other story if you like this one! X

* * *

Greg jumped out the truck and shut his door, grabbing his kit out the back, "So what did she say?"

Nick raised an eyebrow at him, "What do you think, Greg?"

"She said no, it's alright you can't get 'em all Nick." He said as he patted him on the back with a smirk.

Nick gave him a look, "Very funny, you're just jealous I can get any girl to go out with me."

Greg scoffed, "I'm jealous of you? Get over yourself."

Nick laughed at him as they ducked under the tape. "Hey Brass, what have we got?"

Brass looked up to them, scribbling something down on his notepad.

"35 year old male, looked like he was beaten to death. Guy at the gas station across the road said he saw a gang go in there and knew there'd be trouble, called us about half an hour ago, one officer got beat up too but he's alright." He explained to them.

Nick raised his eyebrows and looked to Greg who had a similar expression.

"I'll take a look outside; I'll meet you inside when I'm done?" Greg asked him.

"Yeah that sounds good." Nick told him with a tight smile as he went inside. Greg nodded to Brass once before walking down the side of the shop and was a little sceptical about going down the dimly lit alleyway; however he thought nothing of it as the officers had cleared the scene.

He walked down, moving his flashlight slowly over the dumpsters and the floor to see if anything stood out to him, but nothing grabbed his attention. Walking further down the alley, he squinted as the light dimmed even more and it was beginning to get hard to see. As he moved down more, he turned his head as he swore he had heard something shuffle behind him.

Content that there was nothing there, he turned back around but that's all he could remember. One swift punch to the face and he was down. With five men gathered around him.

He tried to push them off of him, or to bring his arms up to his head but it was no use. Whatever he tried they still managed to kick him all over, including his face and head.

Greg gasped for breath and tried to shout but as soon as he was about to, a sharp crack in his chest stopped him in his tracks, and he could almost feel the rib push into his lung. He began to choke as blood rose in his mouth and he couldn't get it out. He was kicked on his front and managed to expel the blood from his mouth.

Then just like that, they left him and ran down the long alley and over a metal railing.

Greg had no idea what made them go but he knew he needed help.

He tried to stand up but straight away groaned in immense pain. Looking for his phone, he shakily pulled it out of his vest pocket, finding the screen smashed up; however he found he was able to reach his contacts and call Nick.

"Dude, if you need me why don't you come inside? I'm like thirty seconds walk away." Nick laughed at him.

Greg tried to laugh but all he got out was a gurgled moan as more blood came from his mouth. "Greg?" Nick asked him more serious.

He was about to reply but began choking again as he pulled himself to sit against the wall of the shop. Much to his relief, Nick rounded the corner just then, phone in hand.

"Oh my god. Call the medics, officer down, I repeat officer down!" He shouted and saw Brass' head snap his way and follow him.

"Greg!" He ran up to his friend and knelt next to him.

Greg tried to smile to him, to tell him that it wasn't as bad as it looked, but he didn't actually know how bad he looked or how bad he actually was.

Nick smiled as he saw his futile attempt, "I'm sorry, man. Medics are coming to sort you out alright? Where does it hurt?" He asked as Brass joined them.

Greg was about to answer but he suddenly became light headed and leant heavily on the wall behind him.

"Hey Sanders, you alright?" Brass asked him as he put his hand on Greg's arm.

"The kid's passing out." He said as he checked him over. "Here, let's lie him down."

Nick and Brass moved swiftly lowering Greg to the floor.

"The medics are here." Nick stated as he saw lights flash on the wall.

"I'll bring them down here." Brass said, getting up and walking away.

Nick looked down at his friend worried. Greg was sprawled out on the floor and a gurgling was coming from his throat.

"Hey he's choking!" Nick shouted as the paramedics came from behind him and started running.

They knelt down and got to work and Nick stepped back as they forced a tube down Greg's throat.

Brass came back over and rubbed a hand over his head, "Oh boy, I'm gonna' call Russell, let him meet you at the hospital alright?" He waited for Nick to nod in acknowledgement before continuing, "Look after him."

Nick didn't reply, just stared at Greg on the floor and then followed them in the ambulance, off to the hospital.

* * *

"Nick", Nick looked up to the call of his name and saw Russell briskly walking down the hall to meet him. "Have you heard anything?"

Nick rose from his seat and nodded, "Yeah, he's gonna' be alright. It's gonna' be a while until he can get out of here but he should be okay soon enough."

Russell let out a breath and nodded in relief. "Good, good. What's his condition?"

Nick sat back down and Russell followed, "Main problem is the rib that pierced his lung, he's on a ventilator, just temporary until tomorrow when they want to wake him. He also has multiple stab wounds, one was on the top of his leg, and the doctor said it could be a problem."

"Stab wound? Our first victim wasn't stabbed." Russell told him confused.

"Not by a knife, the doctors don't know what caused it." Nick told him, looking up to the nurse who came to them.

"You can go and sit with him now." She told Nick with a small smile.

Nick stood up and thanked her, "Thank you."

"You coming with?" Nick asked Russell.

Russell nodded, "Yeah, but I have to go and fetch my kit, Greg's not only my friend, he's now my evidence.

* * *

Nick had sat for a few minutes, taking in Greg's ghastly appearance before Russell re-joined him. Greg lay in the middle of the bed, pale and clammy. The ventilator was what Nick was first drawn to. But after that, his eyes travelled and took in the bags under his friend's eyes, the scuffs on his hands, the bruises and cuts that littered his whole body.

Russell opened the door and stood for a second before completely coming inside. Seeing his young colleague like this was devastating. He set his kit down and held his camera down by his side as he stepped forward.

"The doctor said the swelling will go down some more by tomorrow." Nick told him, looking at Greg's bashed up face.

Russell nodded. "You want to help me do this or do you want me to do it on my own?"

Nick looked down at the camera he held and the kit on the floor. "I'll help you."

Russell passed Nick the camera and Nick started with Greg's face. Once he had taken a few shots, Russell untied the gown from around his neck and pulled it down gently, being careful not to catch the tubes and wires.

"Oh my God." Nick brushed his hand on the dirty black bruise across Greg's chest and just under his neck. "What do you think caused this?"

Russell shook his head, "I don't know, Brass said he looked around after you guys had come here and said there weren't any noticeable weapons. They probably just did it with their fists." He said sadly, trying to imagine the pain Greg must have gone through.

Nick took some more photos. Russell fastened up Greg's gown again and then moved the covers from over him. Nick took some photos of Greg's battered legs and then looked up to Russell briefly before moving the gown upwards and over his chest.

"Ouch, that's a pretty nasty wound." Russell noted as they looked at the stitched up hole that was at the top of Greg's leg. The camera flashed as Nick took a photo of it.

"Yeah, there should be a few more up here", Nick told him as rolled the gown up to reveal more of the same shaped wounds on Greg's stomach.

Russell squinted as he thought about what they could be from.

"Let's cover him back up. He won't be very happy if he finds out we've been staring at him in just his boxers." Nick said with a laugh as he pulled the gown back down. Russell smiled too as he helped adjust the covers again.

"Right, let's finish this and then I'll take everything back to the lab. Hopeful we can find out who did this."

* * *

"Hey Morgan, come check this out." Catherine called as she walked by the light room.

"What's up?" She asked as she came in and stood next to her.

Catherine passed her a photograph. "Russell just got back from the hospital and these are the stab wounds on Greg."

"How is he? Is he going to be okay?" Morgan asked worried. She had spoken to Nick on the phone but she didn't get much out of him.

"Yeah, he's going to be fine, eventually. Russell said he looks bad, and you can see that from these," She said, signalling to the photos, "But he should be fine."

Morgan nodded and looked down at the photo Catherine gave to her. She frowned and lifted it a little closer, "Well if you're asking me what this is, I'd say it's a heel."

Catherine scooted it closer to her again and agreed. "So there was a women involved in all this?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow, "I'd guess so."

Catherine nodded. "Well I'm going to get that bitch."

* * *

It was the next night and the team were gathered in Greg's hospital room, waiting for him to wake up.

They had all been sat close to an hour when Greg opened his eyes.

"Hey everybody, looks who's coming around." Nick said with a smile as he looked at Greg, who flicked his eyes around the room.

"Hey buddy, how you doing?" Nick asked him, grabbing his hand.

He looked up to him with a confused expression and took a few painful breaths.

"Hey breath through your nose, get some of that oxygen into you." Nick told him, gently pushing the tube under his nose up a little more.

The team looked at him sadly as he pushed his head back into the softness of the pillows some more. "Y-y-you ge- do…"

Russell leant forward, "What's wrong bud?"

Greg swallowed deeply a few times before trying again. "Can y- you, you get… get the doctor… Please." He asked him with a quiet voice.

"Sure bud, I'll go get someone." Russell told him and went out the door.

Sara sat in his place and rubbed the back of his hand comfortingly.

"Are you in pain?" Catherine asked him softly.

Greg nodded slightly and gave an 'mmm' in reply.

"Oh honey, they'll sort you out." She told him stroking his forehead to which he winced, "I'm sorry."

He opened his eyes and moved his head, "Don't be. Feels nice. Just not so hard."

This made the team smile and Russell came back with a nurse. "Mr Sanders, it's lovely to see you awake. Let's have a look what you're on." She said as she looked at his sheets.

"Morphine, you're on the good stuff. Let's top you up." She told him with a smile as she went into a medical draw the far side of the room. She came back over and everyone moved as she put it into his IV.

"You should feel that work its magic pretty soon, okay? If you need anything else I'm just outside." She said, directing the last part to Russell.

"Alright, thank you." Russell told her with a smile as she left.

Nick smiled as he saw the frown lines decrease on Greg's face as the pain slowly went away. "Feeling better bud?"

Greg smiled in response and the team laughed.

"Yeah, that stuff is magic." Morgan said and laughed.

"Guys why don't we head to the lab, see what else we can do?" Russell suggested, as he could see Greg falling asleep already.

The team nodded and stood up, all saying something to Greg as they left.

Nick was last and rubbed his arm, "I'll come back and see you later, alright?"

Greg hummed a response and Nick smiled, leaving Greg alone.

* * *

Russell jumped out his truck and met the others just inside the lab, "Hey guys, good news, Brass has one of the gangs members down at the station."

"I'll take that." Nick said straight away.

The team shared a look of apprehension but Russell nodded, "Okay, I'll go there with you, girls, you know what to do?" He asked the three of them.

Sara nodded "Yeah we got this."

"Great, I'll call you when we're done." Russell told them, and then followed Nick to where he already sat in his truck.

"Russell!" Catherine called, making him turn around.

"Yeah?"

She lowered her voice, "Look after him." She told him, signalling to Nick with a nod of her head.

Russell nodded, "I've got this."

"So Mike, or do you prefer Michael?" Nick asked as he sat in front of one of the gang members.

He sat slouched in his chair, rings covering his hands and Nick could make out a glimmer of a gold tooth inside his mouth.

"It's Big G." He replied with an intimidating stare.

Nick raised an eyebrow and looked down at the sheet in his hand, "Nope, your name's Mike. Says right here." He said, moving the folder forward to show his record.

"You think you're funny, huh?"

Nick shrugged. "Not really, is that why you beat those people up, to be funny? Have a little fun?"

"You know, you gotta' pass the time somehow." He replied knocking his hand on the table, making it clink from the rings.

"You got a lot of jewellery. Bet they took a while to clean right?" Nick asked.

"I like to keep 'em dirty, reminds me that there's one less cop trying to get my ass."

Nick leaned forward slightly and Russell picked up on it. "So Michael, how many people were you with when you beat them people up?"

Michael leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back in thought, "There was only a few of us, but we called the others when we saw the cops show up."

Nick grinded his teeth in anger and Russell spoke up again. "Were there any females taking part in this?"

Michael shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Really? Then what the hell is this?" Nick asked him, shoving the photo of the heel shaped wound on Greg.

"You or one of your other thugs like to play dress up?" He asked spitefully.

Michael leant forward in his chair with a pissed look, and Nick leant forward too.

"Alright, alright, come on." Russell said, tapping Nick's arm. "Now, who was the girl?"

Michael stayed leaning forward on the table. "Erika."

Russell looked at him, "She have a last name?"

With a shake of the head, Michael replied, "I don't know. But she's only a tiny thing. She still managed to beat the shit out of that little asshole, he couldn't even fight back." He said directing it to Nick, knowing it would get to him, and it did.

Nick lunged across the table and gave a swift right hook to Michael's face.

"Nick!" Russell shouted, "Get outside now!"

Michael laughed and looked around, "Hey that's assault! You saw that!"

"Shut up!" Russell shouted at him with a point of the finger as he left the room, pushing Nick out in front of him.

When they had gotten outside and Russell had shut the door he went over to Nick. "Nick, buddy come on you can't attack people like that."

"Why the hell has he managed to do what he has to Greg then?" Nick retorted shaking his head. "That guy is an asshole."

Russell smirked, "Nick you don't have to tell me that, alright? I'll finish up here, go home, go see Greg… I don't really care; just do something that will make you feel better."

Nick looked up to Russell and nodded, "Alright, I'll see you later."

* * *

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be up." Nick said with a smile as he quietly shut the hospital door.

Greg looked over and smiled. "I woke up not too long ago."

Nick came over and sat down, picking up the stuffed toy next to Greg's hand. "Morgan dropped it off for me" Greg told him with a smile, "Think that means she's asking me out?" He asked with a sideways smile.

Nick cocked an eyebrow, "I doubt it." He told him and laughed when he saw Greg stick out his bottom lip.

"So how's the pain? You seem better than earlier." Nick asked him more serious.

Greg let out a long breath and nodded, "It feels better already. They topped up my medication again so can't really feel anything at the moment."

Nick smiled, "Well we got one of the guys down at the station, and we're trying to get the name of the girl that was involved too."

Greg frowned, "I was beat up by a girl? That's embarrassing." He said with an awkward laugh and looked down.

"Dude, there was about five other people, what were you supposed to do?" Nick asked him.

Greg shrugged and Nick tried to get him to face him. "Greg, look at me. Look at me."

Greg reluctantly turned his head to look at Nick, "Tell me what you could have done."

"I don't know, something would have been better than nothing though." Greg told him, looking down at his lap.

"Hey, don't say that, there was nothing you could have done against them. Alright? Don't talk like you didn't do anything." Nick scolded him, remembering what Michael had said when he talked to him.

Greg nodded and kept his head down. Nick studied him for a moment, trying to figure out what was going through his friend's head. "Greg, talk to me."

"About what?" He asked, glancing up slightly.

"You, I want to know what's going on in your head. Don't go blaming yourself for what happened, because I know that you are." Nick told him.

Greg looked over to him and that's when he could feel himself about to go. "Just, can't believe I let it happen again." He told him friend with a nervous laugh which let on that he was about to let go.

Nick's face softened and he reached out to comfort his friend as he saw the first tear begin to fall. "Greggo, you didn't let it happen again, you hear me? You didn't let it happen the first time, there's just low lifes like them waiting to do this to people."

"So why has this happened to me twice?" Greg asked as he wiped his face.

Nick shook his head, "I really don't know, bad luck? But this is nothing to do with anything you have or have not done, okay?"

Greg sniffled and grimaced as he wiped the rest of the tears away.

"Here, try and get some more rest, you woke up less than 24 hours ago, you must be exhausted." Nick told him as he moved back a little. "Just remember Greg, you couldn't have done anything, okay?

"Nothing could have changed that."

* * *

Four weeks later and Greg was back at work. Russell had allowed him to return with a few conditions; hours had to be to a minimum, no field work until he had seen the department's shrink, etc.

So right now, he was working in the lab. Catherine came in to his lab and smiled, seeing him back at work. "Hey, how's it going?" She asked as she leant on the desk opposite him.

Greg looked up and smiled, "Hey, it's going good. Your results." He said and passed them over to Catherine.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be this fast." She commented.

"I still got it." Greg told her as he spun around fully in his chair to face her. "I noticed an unusual spike, right here…" Greg said as he leant over and pointed on the paper and the rise in the graph, "I looked a little closer, ran a few more tests, and I found this." He said, grabbing a second set of results.

But Catherine didn't take them. She stared at his hands and saw them shake, quite badly too.

Greg noticed her looking and his face dropped, he turned around and then put the paper on the side, "I'll leave them there when you're ready for them." Greg told her quietly, starting work on something else.

"Greg…"

Greg half looked over his shoulder, "Yeah?"

"It's okay." She told him with a soft, motherly voice.

He didn't do anything, just carried on with his work.

"You know if you want to talk to anyone I'll always be around." She told him, trying to get him to open up.

"Thanks, I'll let you know if I need something." Greg replied, still not turning around.

Catherine stood up and came behind him, "Greg, you don't have to be embarrassed."

"I know that." Greg told her, "I just wish it would stop."

She smiled, "It will. Eventually. If you need me I'll be around."

Greg looked up to her and smiled, "Okay."

* * *

So did you like it or not? Thanks for reading! X


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